Electric switch.



Y No. 758,306. PATENTED APR. 26, 1904.

v A. R. FERGUSSON.

ELECTRIC SWITCH. APPLIGATIONHLED Dm. 16. 1902.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

N0 MBEL.

No. 758,306. PATENTD APB.. 26, 190.4.A A. R. FERGUSSON. Y v v ELECTRIC SWITGH.

. APPLIOATION Hmm Dna. 1e. 19021.11.; No MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.'.

UNITED STATES Patented April 2e, 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

ALAN ROBB FERGUSSON, OF NEW YORK, N.

Y., ASSIGNOR TO ELECTRO- MECHANICAL SPECIALTY COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPO- RATION OF NEW YORK.

ELI-:creto SWITCH.

SIECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 758,306, dated April 26, 1904. Application led December lr6, 1902. Serial No. 135,383. (No model.)

To @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, ALAN RoBB FEEGUssoN, a citizen of the United States, residing in New York city, in the county of New York and State of New York, have invented certain new and usetul Improvements in Electric Switches, of which the following is a speciiication.

The present invention relates to switching devices for electric circuits, such as telephonecircuits, the operation of which devices is in turn controlledby the movements of a gravityoperatedhook or support.

The present improvements are designed to maintain the operativeness of the switching device by weight-for instance, the hanging of the receiver on its hook or support whatever he the position of said hook or support with relation to the part or stad upon which it is mounted-th at is to say, the present hook is so organized and constructed that a make and break of the circuits will be caused by the hanging up of the receiver on the hook whether the part or member upon which the hook is mounted is in a vertical or a horizontal position or is brought to any intermediate position between these extremes. In other words, assuming the receiver to have been placed on its hook, thereby opening the talking-circuit and closing the signaling-circuit of a telephone system, those circuits will remain open and closed, respectively, whatever be the angular position of the supporting-stad with reference to the vertical-z'. e., the line oi' gravity-provided in shifting the stai from one position to the other the parts with which the receiver-hook contacts, as well as the weight of the supported receiver, are left free to maintain the hook in the same xed position.

The present invention is particularly adapted for. use in connection with adesk-telephone, such as disclosed in my application, Serial No. 82,495, filed November i6, 1901, and when used in combination with the devices therein set forth will cause the closing of the signaling-circuit and the opening of the talking-circuit by placing the receiver on its hook whatever be the position of the supporting-staff.

. invention is set forth.

Figure l is a longitu-V In the drawings accompanying the present application a preferred. form of the present [n the drawings, dinal section in which the part or staff upon which the hook and switch apparatus are mounted is assumed to be in a vertical position'. Fig. 2 is a view in which the member carrying the switch is assumed to have been shifted from the vertical position of Fig. l to a horizontal position. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section of the inclosing shell or casing of the switching device, the parts being seen from the p.

left in Fig. l. Fig. 4 is a view of the switch;

the casing being removed. Fig. 5 is a perspective view oi' a portion of the, receiver-hook and showing the revoluble shell or journal to which the receiver-hook is pivoted; Fig. 6 is mainly an elevation illustrating a staff having a swinging connection with'a support and upon which 'a telephone-transmitter and a receiver-hook are mounted. y

Similar characters of reference designate corresponding parts in all iigures.

The staff or member upon which the switching device is directly supported is in this instance of .telescopic construction and designated byB. This stai is jointed by suitable means.(see the joint 50) to have a swinging connection with a support, which is here shown in the nature of a clamping device 5l, secured to the top of a piece of furniture 52.

lAlso mounted upon the stad is a transmitter 53, between which and the stati a joint 54 is interposed. Upon the member 3 are mounted the parts of two switches comprised in the switching device and serving to control the opening and closing of both the signaling and y talking circuits, respectively, the switch for the signaling-circuit being designated by 2 and that for the talking-circuit by 4; Each switch comprises a pair of metallic conductors 5 and 6, insulated from each other and from the conductors of the other switch. In this case each pair of conductors is attached to a block 7 (one for each pair) of insulating material mounted upon the aforesaid member 3. The talking-circuit wires or conductors are designated by 8 8, the same being in electrical connection with the metallic conductors of the talking-circuitswitcht. The signaling-circuit conductors are designated by 9 9, the same being similarly connected to the conductors 6 of the signaling-switch 2. These wires may be inclosed by a protecting-tube 10, which is illustrated as passing through an opening in the inclosing casing or shell 11,

surrounding the switches and havinga head 12 constituting a closure for one end of the shell. The wires may, however, if the staff is hollow pass through the latter. For the purpose of effecting the simultaneous closing of one of the switches and the opening of the other an operating -lever is employed, which in this case is in the nature of a two-arm lever 13, pivoted intermediate its ends to a post 14, projecting from the member 3. Normallythat is, when either arm of the lever 13 is swung backward out of operative relation with its corresponding switch-the latter will open. This result may be conveniently effected by making the metallic conductors of the respective switches resilient at the free ends, with which the lever 13 coperates, and which ends by virtue of such resiliency and vof their relation separate from each other when relieved of the pressure of the arm and open the circuit. For assuring the contact between the two ends of each pair of switchconductors when the adjacent arm of the double-arm lever 13 is pressed down against them metallic buttons may be fixed to the ends of the switch-conductors, a button 15 being indicated in the drawings. A spring 16, interposed between one arm of the lever 13 and the insulating-block 1i, serves to normally close the talking-circuit and open the signaling-circuit. This condition prevails when the receiver is absent from its hook; but upon its engagement therewith the weight of the receiver being transmitted to and pressing against the lever 13 overcomes the tension of spring 16 and as a result opens the talkingcircuit and closes the signaling-circuit.

The receiver-supporting hook is designated by 17, the same being' of the usual form and having a face such as that designated by 18,A adapted to impinge against a plunger 19, through which the weight of the receiver is in part transmitted to thelever 13, as aforesaid. The plunger is mounted in a barrel 20, affixed to and projecting laterally from the casing 11 and guided at its inner end by a perforated plug21 at the bottom of the barrel. Between this plug and a collar 22 on the plunger is inserted a spring 23, tending to'force the plunger outward and tilt the receiver-hook upward to the position indicated in Fig. 1.

Referring now to the mounting of the hook 17 and the -means whereby the supported receiver (designated by is maintained in a substantially vertical position to thereby render its weight effective to force the plunger 19 inward, whatever be the disposition'of the axis of the member 3, in a plane substantially transverse to the axis of the plunger, whether the same be vertical or horizontal or is disposed in any intermediate position, this result is accomplished according to the present invention by mounting the hook upon a part which is rotatable with respect to the barrel 20. A convenient construction for the attainment of this comprises a head 24, to a lug or ear 25 of which the hook is pivoted. This head is journaled to the barrel 2O by means of a journal or tube section 26, extending from the head and in this case having a diameter permitting it to slidably rit the interior of the aforesaid barrel. Longitudinal movement of the two parts when assembled is prevented by a pin-such, for instance, as screw 27-which engages with the barrel and projects inward through a slot 28 in the shell 26. This slot is somewhat elongated, as clearly shown in Fig. 5, to permit of the relative angular movement of the barrel and the journal through a considerable arc. A stop 29, extending from the lug 25, coperates with a stop projecting from the body of the hook 17 to limit the upward movement of the outer end of the hook when relieved from the weightof the receiver, and thus left free to swing upward under the tension of the spring 23.

It is plain that there is provided by the foregoing construction a simple and eflcient means for maintaining the closed condition o f the signaling-circuit and the simultaneous open condition of the talking-circuit established by the engagement of the receiver with its hook, for it is obvious that as the member 3 is moved from'a vertical (indicated in dotted outline in Fig.. 6) to a horizontal position, or vice versa, the barrel 23, projecting from the switch-casing, will rotate with reference to the shell or journal 26, since the weight of the supported receiver is effective to maintain the journal in a fixed position, or if the stati1 be in any position but the vertical the weight of the receiver will nevertheless cause the operation of the switch in closing the signaling and opening the talking circuit.

Having thus described the invention, the claims are-- p f 1. The combination with a sta having a swinging connection with its support, of a transmitter mounted thereon, a switching device mounted on the stai independently of the transmitter, a receiver-hook whose movements serve to make and break the circuits of the switching device, and means for maintaining a given condition of such switching device as the sta is swung from one position to another.

2. The combination with a stai having a swinging connection with its support, of a transmitter mounted thereon, a switching device mounted on the staff independently of the transmitter, an operating-lever for the IOO switching device, a receiver-hook whose movements are transmitted to said lever, and means for maintaining a given 4condition of said lever as the stati is swung from one position to another. Y

3. The combination with a supporting member, of a switching device mounted thereon, an operating-lever for the switching device, a receiver-hook, a spring-pressed plunger interposed between said hooli and said operating-lever, and means for maintaining a given condition of said lever as the member is swung from one position to another.

4. rlhe combination with a member having a swinging connection with its support, of a transmitter mounted thereon, a switching device also mounted thereon independently of the transmitter, and a receiver-hook operatively connected with the switching device and rotatably mounted with reference to said member.

5. The combination with a member, of a switching device mounted thereon, an operating-lever for the switch, a receiver-hook, a

spring-pressed plunger interposed between said operating -lever and said hook, and a journal upon which said hook is mounted.

6. The combination with a signaling-circuit and 'a talking-circuit, of a lever pivoted intermediate its ends for closing one circuit and opening the other, and vice versa, a member upon which said switches are mounted, a

/movement-transmitting device interposed between said hook and said lever, and a journal upon which said hook is mounted.

7. The combination with a signaling-circuit and a talking-circuit, of a lever pivoted intermediate its ends for closing one circuit and opening the other, and vice versa, a member upon which said switches are mounted, a movement-transmitting device interposed between said hooli and said lever, a journal upon which said hook is mounted, and a spring for elevating said hook upon the removal of the receiver. Y j

8. The combination with a signaling-circuit l switch and a talking-circuit switch, of a member upon which the switches are mounted, a double-arm lever for simultaneously opening one switch and closing the other, a receiverhook, a spring-pressed plunger interposed between said lever and said hook, and a journal portion rotatable about the axis of said plunger and upon which said hook is mounted.

9. The combination with asignaling-circuit switch and a talking-circuit switch, of a member upon which the switches are mounted, a double-arm lever for simultaneously opening one switch and closing the other, a receiverhook, a spring-pressed plunger interposed between said lever and said hook, a journal portion rotatable about the axis of said plunger andupon which said hook is mounted, and a spring normally pressing against said operating-lever to close the talking-circuit switch and open the signaling-circuit switch.

10. The combination with the switches of a telephone apparatus, of a swinging casing, a lateral projection thereon, a receiver-hook rotatabljv mounted. on said projection and a movement-transmitting device interposed between the hook and the switches.

11. The combination with 'the switches of a telephone apparatus, of a swinging casing therefor, a journal mounted therein, a receiverhook mounted on said journal and rotating relatively to said casing as the latter is swung, and an interposed plunger for operating the switches from the hook- 12. The combination with the switches of a telephone apparatus, of a swinging casing therefor, a journal mounted therein, a receiverhook mounted on said journal and rotating relatively to said casing as the lat-ter is swung, and an interposed spring-pressed plunger for operating the switches from the hook.

18. The combination with the switches of a telephone apparatus, of a casing therefor, a

projection extending from said casing, a journal rotatably mounted in said projection, a receiver-hook mounted on said` journal, and a spring-pressed plunger for transmitting the inward movement of said hook to operate said switches.

14. The combination with the switches of a telephone apparatus, of av casing therefor, a projection extending from said casing, a journal rotatabljT mounted in said projection and having an elongated peripheral slot, a receiver-hook mounted on said journal, aspringpressed plunger for transmitting the inward movement of said hook to operate said switch, and a pin extending from said projection into said slot for preventing the outward movement of said journal. 1

15. The combination with a staff having a swinging connection with its support, of a transmitter mounted thereon, a switching device mounted on the staif between the point at which the stalx is supported and the point ITO at which the transmitter is connected to the stad, a receiver-hook whose movements serve to make and break the circuits of the switch- 

